


Blessed are the Children

by Diary



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bechdel Test Pass, Conversations, Female Friendship, Gen, Good Slytherins, Inter-House Friendships, POV Female Character, POV Multiple, Post-Deathly Hallows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 21:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7908049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repost. “Oi, I Transfigured a boy into a squirrel for you! If you ask me, that's devotion right there.” Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blessed are the Children

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Harry Potter.

All the first years sorted into Slytherin were removed within the first week of the term, and many of the previous inhabitants of the House have not returned.

“There six people total in Slytherin,” Minerva grimly notes.

Severus looks up from his cup of tea. “Generally, parents don't take kindly to having their child locked up, Minerva. I hear Miss Rosen is upset about her the grade on her recent Transfiguration paper. No doubt, she'll have her parents remove her within the week.”

She sighs. “I suppose, I shall have to resign. Hogwarts-”

“Do spare me the martyrdom, Minerva,” Severus replies. He glares when a crup wanders into his painting, and it quickly leaves. “You resigning could conceivably help, but the only way people will truly consider letting their Slytherin children attend is if a Slytherin takes your place.  Frankly, you should take this a blessing.”

“A blessing,” she hotly repeats. “I-”

“If a large majority of the Gryffindors had neglected to show up during my brief reign as Headmaster, I would have been ecstatic. We both know Slytherin's standing. Tell me honestly, Minerva, when was the last time you formed a close bond with a Slytherin child?” He gives her a humourless smile. “I no longer hold any grudges, but I remember, once, Potter and his friends blamed me for a prank they pulled. I all but begged you to listen to me, and yet, I was still given a month long detention.”

She remembers the incident well. “I was wrong, but you were no innocent, Severus. Not then, and certainly, not later. You openly favoured your students over the other Houses. If a Gryffindor had been in the same situation as you, you, as wrong as it was, and I do admit that, you would have done the same thing.”

“Whereas, you and the others, save, perhaps, Filius, openly favoured every student but mine. Perhaps, I was simply trying to make it abundantly clear that mine did, in a school that automatically assumed the worst of them, have one person firmly on their side.  I acknowledge I was wrong in how I handled things, but what was your excuse for not listening to me? The fact they were any House but mine. My excuse is that they literally had no one to listen to them. I couldn't afford to try to-”

“Rubbish,” she snaps. “If you had consistently applied an anti-bullying policy to all students instead of bullying the likes of Neville and Harry and subtly encouraging your students to bully, there would have been more inter-House cooperation.”

“It was obvious I was never meant to be a professor,” he replies. “Yet, being one has always been your dream, am I correct? Which of us do you consider more in the wrong, Minerva? The person who made bad choices doing a job he never had any particular skill or desire for, or the person who dreamed of having such a job and justly prided herself on being skilled for it? I was a bully, but you were supposed to be firmly against all bullying. Instead, your bullying was much more subtle, the type that could rarely be concretely pointed out.”

For a long moment, there's silence.

“Cheer up, Minerva,” he continues. “Once the likes of Draco start reproducing, they'll insist on sending their children, who will very likely be Slytherin, here. It's a matter of pride.”

“And what do I do to keep this from happening again?”

“I have no idea how one goes about preventing another Dark witch or wizard from rising and starting a war, but when it comes to not having a Slytherin shortage, might I suggest not locking the children up?”

“Severus.”

“Listen to them, Minerva. Apply your strict ideas of non-favouritism to all the Houses, and when a Slytherin child is all but begging you to believe another student, one from your House, is responsible for something, don't blithely dismiss them. They may be lying, certainly, or they may be a child who is telling the truth and desperately needs an ally. Don't allow bullying, subtle or overt, to go unpunished once noticed. And for Merlin's sake, never do what Albus did and wait until the Great Hall is adorned with their colours, announce they earned the most out of all the Houses, and then, have the colours change while informing the whole Hall that another House has, at the last moment, taken their place.”

…

Hearing loud voices, Minerva turns a corner and sees a fifth year and fourth year girl, Slytherin and the Gryffindor respectively, cornering a squirrel.

“Louise, change him back before a Professor- Hello, Headmistress,” the Slytherin girl says with an absolutely miserable expression. “Er.”

Wordlessly, Minerva changes the frantic squirrel back into a human, and a third-year Hufflepuff boy glares at the girls.

“My classroom, you three,” she orders.

“Professor, can I just say that this was all-” the Gryffindor starts.

The Slytherin none-too-subtly kicks her.

In her office, she demands, “Names.”

The Gryffindor supplies, “Louise Fisher, and ma'am, this was all my-”

“My fault,” the increasingly miserable-looking Slytherin interjects.

“Don't lie,” Louise snaps. “Professor, see, what happened is-”

“Miss Fisher, kindly let the other two state their names.”

“Bridgette McAuliffe, Headmistress, but I go by Bridie, though.”

“And you,” Minerva prompts the boy.

“Ellison Danielson, ma'am,” he sulkily replies.

“As I'm sure you are all aware, forced Transfiguration of a human is decidedly against school rules. Now, Miss Fisher and McAuliffe, which of you did it?”

“I did,” Louise says. “Only, I had a good reason.”

“Oh, and what would that reason for breaking such a serious rule be, Miss Fisher?”

“It was my fault,” Bridie insists.

“Oh, shut it,” Louise snaps. Before Minerva can rebuke her, she continues, “Being stuck to the wall and called _that_ name isn't your fault. It's the misogynistic little boy's fault, and I don't care if I get detention for the rest of the year, I don't regret doing it!”

“You were stuck to the wall, Miss McAuliffe?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Noticing how quiet Ellison is being, Minerva asks, “Mister Danielson, do you deny their claims?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Why did you stick Miss McAuliffe to a wall, and what name did you call her?” From what she can remember, Ellison is muggle-born. She doubts he'd be throwing around the word 'mudblood'.

“A whore,” Louise hisses. “He called her that. Threatened to break her wand and tell you that she was going to help death eaters enter the castle. Have to get the headmistress to terrorise-”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” Bridie snaps with a fearful look between her and Minerva.

“Terrorise, Miss Fisher,” Minerva inquires.

For a brief moment, there's a look of fear and horror, but defiance quickly takes its place. “It's not my place to question your policies, Professor McGonagall. But Bridie didn't do anything wrong, and I refuse to apologise for what I did. He attacked her, and I responded.”

“Mister Danielson, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Nothing, ma'am,” he mumbles.

“Twenty points from Hufflepuff, and you will see Professors Flitwick and Slughorn and myself after lunch today to discuss an appropriate punishment. Now, go wait in the Great Hall and stay there until after lunch. Rest assured, I will be checking to ensure you went straight there from here and have been behaving.”

After he’s gone, Minerva looks at the two girls. Bridie is close to tears, and Louise looks ready to yell and aim her wand.

“Well, I'm afraid I have no choice to take House points and assign detention for the week, Miss Fisher. You will report to Mister Filch every night after supper. However, I will say that I am proud of you for defending your classmate. That shows true Gryffindor chivalry and spirit. I'm also impressed by your talent Transfiguration and expect you to start doing better in my class.”

“As for you, Miss McAuliffe, I don't appreciate your attempts to lie, whatever your intentions. However, that said, I do recognise your actions were not based in malice. I sincerely hope things will begin to change in this school. From now on, if a person bullies you, come to Professor Slughorn or I. I assure you, we will hear both sides before making any decisions.”

“Yes, Headmistress,” they chorus.

“Dismissed, young ladies.”

…

“I should have listened to Mam,” Bridie comments. “Coming back was a bad idea.”

“It'll get better,” Louise promises. “You'll see.”

“People are just going to keep trying to drive me out. I don't want to spend my next two or three years dealing with that. Probably best just to leave-”

Louise shakes her head. “No. I'll deal with the people who want you gone.”

“And you'll get yourself expelled.”

“I don't care,” Louise fiercely declares. “If this is the type of place that doesn't want people like you, it doesn't want me, either. And I don't want it.”

“Gryffindor to the end, huh?”

“Well, it sounds better than admitting I'm determined not to lose my study partner,” Louise says with a grin. “Those organisational charms you use are a lifesaver.”

“Way to make a girl feel special.”

“Oi, I Transfigured a boy into a squirrel for you! If you ask me, that's devotion right there.”

Giving a sad smile, Bridie says, “Thank you. Really.”

“I mean it,” Louise says. She bumps their shoulders together. “If there isn't a place for people like you, there isn't one for me. But things will get better, once everyone stops talking about the war so much. Just take some time, that's all.”

…

At dinner, Minerva watches Louise sit down at the Slytherin table, deftly remove a piece of pie from Bridie's plate, and nod to the other five Slytherins.

Blessed are the children, she sadly reflects, for they often unconsciously redeem the sins of their elders.


End file.
